Many types of material-handling operations involve the dispensing of successive discreet measured quantities of flowable material from a bulk supply thereof and subsequent grinding of the materials into more fine particles. A particular operation of this type is the weighing and grinding of coffee beans preparatory to fresh brewing coffee in a coffee maker. Restaurants represent a specific environment where the coffee making process is performed frequently.
It will be appreciated that brewed coffee served to restaurant patrons should be of the highest quality and that the quality can be enhanced by utilizing the proper amount of coffee in the brewing process and by utilizing coffee which has been freshly ground. In order that the brewed coffee be reasonably fresh at the time it is served to the restaurant patrons, it is also desirable that the restaurant operator be able to brew different amounts of coffee at different times, depending upon anticipated demand. Each different amount of coffee requires a separate, distinct and accurate amount of ground coffee beans.
A substantial number of restaurant patrons now request decaffeinated coffee and those restaurant patrons are becoming more discriminating regarding the quality of their coffee. As a result, more restaurants are serving freshly brewed decaffeinated coffee to those patrons rather than instant decaffeinated coffee. Accordingly, the requirement of a selectable accurately measured amount of freshly ground coffee beans is also applicable to the brewing and serving of high quality decaffeinated coffee.
Further, while high accuracy is desired in coffee weighing and grinding procedures, coffee making operations are frequently performed by relatively untrained personnel at times of high activity, and it is therefore necessary to provide apparatus that can be readily operated with a minimum amount of time and attention to detail.
My U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,349 for a Weighing Dispenser provides apparatus for accurately weighing a quantity flowable material, such as coffee beans, ground coffee or powdered coffee. A limitation of that apparatus is that a grinding operation is required either prior to or subsequent to the use of the weighing dispenser, thus occupying additional amounts of operator time as well as utilizing additional valuable restaurant work area for a separate grinding machine. Additionally, my prior weighing dispenser is capable of handling only a single kind of flowable material at one time and is adapted to measure only a single predetermined amount of that material. Accordingly, although my prior device is capable of high accuracy and repeatability in measurement, it solves only a portion of the overall criteria for efficient coffee operations, particularly for busy environments such as restaurants.